Recent reviews by CthulhusMonocle

"Welcome to the island,".....well, thanks but when the hell can I get off?

Unfortunately Far Cry 3 is just as mediocre as Far Cry 2. The vast majority of your time will be spent running around the island hunting collectables, clearing the same generic outposts or doing the same hunting/killing missions over and over again. The main story (CAUTION SPOILERS AHEAD), which shoots itself in the foot immediately entertainment-wise, is quite short overall and leaves you feeling unfulfilled.

You play as Jason Brody, an average American who skydives onto an island full of slavers and is of course the chosen one for a group of native warrior tribesmen. Intially you are captured and your brother shot and killed immediately. This removes any form of future shock value as well as -any- reason to be attached to any of the friends who were captured on the island with you. After you escape you are thrust into the arms of the local villagers who hail you as the chosen one come to save them. Thankfully they have the power of giving you magical tattoos which give you superhuman warrior powers which try to explain how you are suddenly a master marksman, hunter, survivalist, demolitions expert and so-on.

Having seen this game hyped up from various sources and reddit I expected there to at least be one memorable character. Vaas. The downside is that he really isn't memorable at all. Like with all boss encounters in this game you actually defeat him in a short QTE (Quick Time Event) and that's that onto the next link in the command chain.

The story isn't the only thing wrong unfortunately. DRM in the form of U-Play has kept a huge amount of people from purchasing, graphical glitches are abundant, the audio is poor at best and vocals can't be heard at times during cutscenes.

Would I recommend this? No, not at all. Not even on sale.

If you want a good Far Cry title, stick to the first in the series.

Total: 4 / 10
Playtime: 6 - 10 hrs main story 37 total (exploration/sidequests)

Open world + blow up all the things = tons of fun!

Loosely there is a story about bringing 'murica back to an island of warlords but primarily this game is focused on systematically completing various tasks around the island. Everything from blowing up missile defenses, bases, assassination, various vehicle racing scenarios and finally treasure hunts (Collectables, statue destruction and weapon fragments for upgrades).

While it initially doesn't look as much fun as it seems it's nice to be able to pick up and just have a no objectives round of fun. As the game goes on you upgrade your weapons and vehicles which speed things up and only add to your fun. Need to get around the island? Radio in a vehicle drop. Trucks, cars, planes and helicopters all at the push of a button to hop you around the island if your grappling hook isn't doing the job for you.

Currently this game is on for $2.99 on Steam and definitely worth the price.

A fan of the horror genre? Found footage films? This will be right up your alley.

Welcome to Outlast. You play a mild mannered reporter on his way to investigate an abandoned insane asylum only to find it isn't as abandoned as you thought. Of course the main gimmick is the handheld camera you use to record events (and get story based notes for recording specific events) and navigate through dark areas. This actually really helps the atmosphere as your camera gets damaged as the game goes on. Cracks in the lense, video malfunction and static to name a few. Definitely nice little details.

As for the horror, it's primarily jump scares. The main thing that makes this game decent is the asylum itself. The attention to detail is lovely and the environments varied. You never spend too long navigating one single area and exploration is rewarded with tons of batteries for your recorder or confidential files for story.

Enemies cannot be fought so hiding or flight is the only option left to you. I will say this, there is only a handful of proper "enemies" in the game. The reason for this is you are being literally hunted by members of the asylum. While some might say this is a bit of a copout, it's actually very well presented.

I guess I'll end it at saying I have no idea how this compares to Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs which was released at the same time as I have yet to play it. I would say it's up to par with the first Amnesia, if not better. It's hard to compare because both games play differently and have different core mechanics.....even if the concepts seem the same.

Recommend picking up for $10 max.
Gameplay time = 3 - 4 hours (includes exploration time)

Enter the Matrix. Yup, that's right! Welcome to Saint's Row IV: The Matrix. Never again will you wonder what halfway decent Matrix game will be like as this is it.

While SR4 starts off strong, it nosedives the second you get into the "simulation" (now to be referred to as The Matrix). The additon of superpowers really cuts travel time down to almost nothing and gives vehicles no purpose. This also makes the game feel incredibly short as you hop from one task to the next almost literally. Lots of the humour seems to be scaled back and not up to par with Saint's Row 3. Even memorable moments are cut down to a handful and rare.

Is it good? Sure. Is it entertaining? Sometimes. If you end up picking this up, make sure it's below the $20 mark.

This is a Half-Life mod so take it with a grain of salt. You can certainly see this game has aged being on the original Half-Life engine.

If I was to sum it up, I would say it would be like if Silent Hill was a FPS. There is a significant amount of puzzle solving. Most of it is item-fetch quests. Overall, it's not bad but it's not fantastic. The scares, as you might expect, are jump scares. For a good chunk of the game you are not 100% sure what's going on story-wise but it's a decent ride. Worth it since it's free.

Probably the closest thing you will get to Lovecraft getting done properly. This is a good combination of The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over Innsmuth and Dagon. Many scenes and locations will be easily recognizable. The hotel chase sequence was actually translated scene for scene in the film Dagon.

Good flow, true to the story with a a variety in gameplay. Stealth, action and puzzle elements abound. Definitely the must play for Lovecraft and horror fans.

Feeling much like a board game it's highly addictive. Play various characters through family generations through the copper / bronze / iron etc ages. It reminds me of Shark Attack in that there is a rotating board and crocs, instead of a sharks, will eat your characters if you don't move ahead fast enough. You will explore various professions, need to raise children and upgrade their stats as you play as one of your children in the next generation. Various challenges can mean the end of your family line if your stats are not high enough or you make the incorrect decisions. Adds a bit of a random element of danger in that the board game is happening to you, not you strong arming your way through. Definitely worth it.

No subscription required. There is a reason for that. The servers constantly go down, inviting for parties fails frequently, combat is buggy and poor, weapons are uninspiring and you spend most of the time running around and not actually combating anything. Is it worth it? Sadly no. This game had a lot of potential but Funcom just couldn't pull it off it seems. Recommend passing on it.

I'm amazed I havn't put up a recommendation for this yet. This is honestly one of the best games I have probably ever played. Zelda style dungeons, plenty of powerups, foes and bosses. Tons of achievements and characters to play as. Wrath of Lamb is pretty much a must own DLC for this. It expands the game so much considering how little you pay for it. If you want something that is highly addictive, choose this.

This was really a surprising game for me. Turned out to be incredibly awesome.
Basically on the surface it's a GTA clone. The upside is that you are Jackie Chan Supercop.
The combat is similar to Batman: Arkham Asylum and it flows really smoothly.
Characters are awesome. Story is great. Tons to see and do.
Also, ♥♥♥♥ escaltes quickly. Which is awesome.
If you want to play something awesome then give this a go.